CCCCC AA RRRRR OOOO LL II NN N AA CC AA A RR R OO O LL II NNN N AA A CC AA A RRRRR OO O LL II NN N N AA A CC AAAAAA RR R OO O LL II NN NN AAAAAA CCCCC AA A RR R OOOO LLLLLL II NN N AA A STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC Faculty of Social Science of Charles University Smetanovo nabr. 6 110 01 Prague 1 Czech Republic e-mail: CAROLINA@cuni.cz tel: (+4202) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+4202) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 251, Friday, June 13, 1997. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (June 4 - 11) Parliament Reconfirms Klaus Government's Mandate With the slimmest possible margin of 101 votes to 99, Parliament gave a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus' reorganized government June 10. The vote hung on a one-man thread, leaving independent deputy Josef Wagner to decide the coalition's fate. Wagner was expelled in January from the Social Democrats, after he supported the coalition's 1997 budget proposal. He said he would vote for the ruling coalition on the condition that Klaus not allow large banks and strategic companies to be privatized until a privatization strategy is presented to Parliament. When Klaus refused, Wagner threatened to support the opposition. Minutes before the voting began, Klaus promised that the government would present Parliament with the privatization plans. Klaus said the vote of confidence was necessary because of the political and economic situation and personnel changes in the Cabinet. He said that for the last year, his government had carried on in a permanent state of tension both in Parliament and the public. Klaus acknowledged the tension had increased with the recent economic difficulties, and he admitted his government's partial guilt for the problems. The prime minister offered to open discussions with the opposition and the unions, and to present a stabilization schedule to Parliament. Another 20 billion crowns in budget cuts should be made this year, in addition to the 25.5 billion crowns of cuts made in April. The government decided June 9 on radical budget cuts to save 16.5 billion crowns in 1997. Savings include spending cuts in healthcare, childcare and infrastructure construction. Although the opposition and extremist factions were highly critical of the new mandate, President Vaclav Havel said he believes the tense political situation will calm down. Lenka Javurkova/Andrea Snyder Klaus and Zieleniec Make Up When Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Chairman Vaclav Klaus and Vice Chairman Josef Zieleniec agreed June 6 that the party should work on better communication and forget their conflicts, it was a sign that their clash had ended. Zieleniec, the foreign minister, had accused Klaus, the prime minister, of keeping secret from the Cabinet an International Monetary Fund report (see Carolina 250). ODS management will try to "avoid steps which cause information barriers and undermine mutual trust," said Klaus. Zieleniec's advisor Michal Lobkowicz said the minister had wanted to push Klaus towards a more forceful economic policy. "It is known that Vice Chairman Zieleniec has a more skeptical outlook on the depth of the problems, and as such on their resolution," he said. Marketa Kropacova/Andrea Snyder KDU-CSL Announces Confidence Vote Conditions Christian Democrat (KDU-CSL) Chairman and Vice Prime Minister Josef Lux said that his party's support in Parliament's government confidence vote depended on passing their budget proposals, which include postponing inflation-pegged increases in social security and the poverty line, postponing deregulation of rents and energy prices, decreasing salaries for government officials by 50 per cent and taking bigger taxes from higher wages. "I realize that postponing the pension and poverty-line increases concerns a change in laws, and that is why, should we agree on this issue, it would be very useful to unite the vote of confidence with an announcement of legislative emergency in Parliament," said the Christian Democrat leader June 6. The government can propose that the Parliament speaker announce a state of legislative emergency, which allows for more rapid approval of necessary laws. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jindrich Vodicka said the proposal was "unacceptable" and Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) Parliament club chief Ivan Masek compared it to the neo-fascist Republicans' "populist opinions." Although the proposal, which was not further specified, was sharply rejected, Lux said in a pre-vote television discussion panel that "when the government asks for a vote of confidence, the idea that one of the KDU-CSL deputies might vote against them is absurd." Bohdana Rambouskova/Andrea Snyder Union Leaders Meet with Government Representatives At a June 7 meeting between the trade union leaders and a government delegation, neither side was willing to budge from its standpoint. Though Chairman of the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions Richard Falbr assured Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus that trade unions are holding off on all protest actions. After the three-hour-plus meeting, Klaus said "the union organization do not want to add any more unrest to the already tense political and economic situation, and this the government appreciates." Unions still insist on delaying rent and energy deregulation, which the government will not discuss. On the other hand, the government unsuccessfully asked for wage restraint from the unions. In return for abstaining from protest actions, the government promised the trade unions regular meetings with Cabinet representatives. Marketa Kropacova/Sofia Karakeva Havel Seconds Discussions on Postponing Deregulation President Vaclav Havel considers discussions on the possible postponement of this year's rent and energy price deregulation appropriate, he said in his weekly radio program Talks from Lany June 8. Havel thus indirectly supported the standpoint of Christian Democrat Chairman Josef Lux, who proposed delaying deregulation to compensate for this year's annulment of pension and poverty line valorization. The opposition Social Democrats and labor unions have also expressed their support for postponing deregulation, while on the other hand, both the coalition Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) unambiguously support the deregulation plans. The president, within the framework of better communication in politics, would like to see his own representative at regular Cabinet meetings, like in the early 90's during Marian Calfa's term as prime minister. In 1993, Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus' government declared its meetings internal, and the president, unless he himself took part in the agenda, stayed abreast only through press conferences. The Czech Republic's constitution gives the president the right to attend Cabinet discussions anytime. Bohdana Rambouskova/Denisa Vitkova Free Democrats Leave SD-LSNS At the June 7 national conference of the Free Democrats-Liberal Social National Party (SD-LSNS), long-simmering conflicts between the merged parties led to the group's split. The liberal fraction members decided to leave the party because of their disagreement with the National Interests Charter, presented by leftist wing of the LSNS. The liberals criticized the National Interests Charter as pedantic, outdated and unintelligible. "The national socialists want the party to lean on the national program and start fighting for Czech national interests. We prefer our free-thinking convictions and we do not want to hollow out economical and ethnical moats around us," explained liberal speaker Milan Znoj. SD-LSNS Chairman Tomas Sokol will remain in the party, as does former party co-chairman Jiri Dienstbier, both originally members of the Free Democrats. Michaela Klevisova/Denisa Vitkova Education Minister Grusa Taken to Hospital New Education Minister Jiri Grusa (59 nominated by the Civic Democratic Party) was taken to the Central Military Hospital in Prague-Stresovice directly from Cabinet discussions on budget cuts June 10. The minister had stomach ulcer problems, which, together with stress and exhaustion caused a rupture of a blood vessel in his stomach and bleeding. Grusa should stay in the hospital for three to six weeks. Deputy Education Minister Frantisek Kozel will run the office in Grusa's absence. Michaela Klevisova/Magdalena Vanova Czechs Interested in Seeing Secret Police Files More than 2,000 citizens used an opportunity to see files of the former confidential State Security (StB) police, and thus find out who snitched on them in the Communist era. The Interior Ministry declassified the files June 2. About 1,000 people applied before June 1 to see the files. Jan Frolik, director of the Confidential Materials Protection Department, said that most of the application forms were filled out incorrectly. The Interior Ministry established a special division in Pardubice which will deal with the requests (for application details, see Carolina 250). Marketa Kropacova/Magdalena Vanova FROM SLOVAKIA New Slovak Foreign Minister Has No Diplomatic Experience From June 4 Slovakia's new Minister of Foreign Affairs is Zdenka Kramplova, appointed by President Michal Kovac. Former foreign minister Pavol Hamzik resigned after the scandal of the government-sabotaged referendum on NATO and direct presidential election (see Carolina 249). The appointment of Kramplova, however, evoked distrust among observers, who consider Premier Vladimir Meciar's nomination of Kramplova a further blow to Slovak diplomacy. Kramplova does not have any diplomatic experience. "The appointment of Kramplova could have two meanings. Either the premier cannot find any expert willing to represent the Slovak government in the West, or he just gave up the need of having at his side a person capable of doing so," wrote distinguished Slovak journalist Marian Lesko in the Czech daily MF DNES. From 1994-97 Kramplova ran the Slovak Government Office and she was recently responsible for the administration of the Foreign Ministry. According to Slovak journalists, Kramplova, 39, has built her career on her loyalty to Meciar. She graduated from the Agriculture Academy in Plovdiv, worked in Nature magazine until 1992 and from 1992-94 as Meciar's advisor for Parliament and political parties before joining the Government Office in 1994. Marketa Kropacova/Sofia Karakeva ECONOMY No Breakthrough in Disputes over Slovak Import Restrictions Skepticism about the continuing existence of the customs union between the Czech Republic and Slovakia still persists. After a meeting of the Czechoslovak Customs Union Council June 9, however, both parties declared themselves content with the results. "We did not speak about abolishing the union at all. On the contrary, we see a positive trend," said Czech Trade Minister Karel Kuhnl to Czech daily MF DNES. Ministers fell into dispute immediately when they came to the real reasons why the meeting was called - recent restrictions placed by Slovakia on imports of Czech beer and its intention to abolish customs-free trade with food and agricultural products. "We have repeatedly disagreed with that," said Kuhnl, and added that it could lead to the end of the customs union if the Slovaks do not stop placing import quotas on Czech products. "The decision about beer has already been made and monitoring imports of other goods will show if other restrictions have to be established," declared Kuhnl's Slovak counterpart. Lenka Javurkova/Matej Cerny Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from June 13) country currency ---------------------------------------- Australia 1 AUD 24.221 Belgium 100 BEF 90.643 Great Britain 1 GBP 52.652 Denmark 1 DKK 4.914 Finland 1 FIM 6.232 France 1 FRF 5.535 Ireland 1 IEP 48.671 Italy 1000 ITL 18.977 Japan 100 JPY 28.247 Canada 1 CAD 23.232 Luxemburg 100 LUF 90.643 Hungary 100 HUF 17.463 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.635 Norway 1 NOK 4.488 New Zealand 1 NZD 22.194 Poland 1 PLN 9.971 Portugal 100 PTE 18.485 Austria 1 ATS 2.658 Greece 100 GRD 11.790 Slovakia 100 SKK 96.705 Germany 1 DEM 18.710 Spain 100 ESP 22.122 Sweden 1 SEK 4.139 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.330 USA 1 USD 32.233 ECU 1 XEU 36.428 IMF 1 XDR 45.058 CULTURE Prague Festival of Modern Dance Starts June 15 The annual International Festival of Contemporary Dance will be held in Prague for the 9th time, from June 15 to July 2. Artists will perform their shows in the Comedy and Archa theaters and in a hall of the Fair Palace (Veletrzni palac) in Prague. Many stars of modern dance will take part in the festival, such as American legend Merce Cunningham with his ensemble, the Swiss dance group Alias and Portuguese dancers from the Clara Andermatt ensemble. Central and eastern Europe are also becoming a part of world modern dancing trends, as the Hungarian group 2 in 1 will perform its short performance A Garlic Kiss, while the Slovenian Betontanc troupe will introduce their avant-garde Know Your Enemy. Also several shows of Czech and Slovak artists, such as the Slovak AS-Project and the Prague Chamber Ballet, will take place during the festival. As part of the festival, there will be open-air performances on Prague's Old Town Square. Tickets are available at the box-office of the Archa Theater. Michaela Klevisova/Jan Majer SPORTS Czech Soccer Players Will Not Start in 1998 World Cup in France The Czech Republic's loss to Spain in a qualification match June 8 in Valladolid finally dismissed any Czech hopes of advancing to the World Cup. The Czechs, holders of the Euro 96 silver medal, was better in the first half, especially Wagner should have converted his scoring chance, but before the break Hierro scored on a penalty kick, which referee Dallas incorrectly ordered after Alfonso's theatrical fall. The Spaniards defended their unmerited lead in the second half, although they never did shoot on Srnicek's goal. After five matches, coach Dusan Uhrin's team has only four points in the qualification group and cannot advance. The under-21 sides, which had lost their last chance to advance earlier, lost in Burgos to Spain 0-4. Lucie Vackova/Mirek Langer Soccer League Closes The last two question marks of the soccer league faded away after 30 minutes of the last round: Brno led its match with Karvina 3-1. After the 5-1 final, Brno finished fourth and still hopes for a start in the UEFA Cup, while Karvina finally fell into the second league. From the second league Dukla Praha and Lazne Bohdanec advance and it is Dukla which will determine whether Brno will see European cup action. If Dukla wins June 15 the Czech Cup final against Slavia Praha, Slavia will start in the UEFA Cup, and if Dukla loses, Slavia will set its course for the Cup Winners' Cup and the Brno's path is clear. Results from the 30th round: Brno - Karvina 5-1, Drnovice - Teplice 1-0, Liberec - Sparta Praha 0-2, Slavia Praha - Hradec Kralove 4-1, Ostrava - Opava 1-0, Bohemians Praha - Viktoria Zizkov 0-0, Plzen - Ceske Budejovice 4-0, Olomouc - Jablonec 4-2. Final standings (games played, won, tied and lost, goals scored and allowed, points): 1. Sparta Praha 30 19 8 3 61-20 65 2. Slavia Praha 30 18 7 5 59-24 61 3. FK Jablonec 30 17 5 8 40-29 56 4. Boby Brno 30 14 10 6 44-35 52 5. Slovan Liberec 30 12 12 8 33-30 46 6. SK Ceske Budejovice 30 11 11 8 38-40 44 7. Petra Drnovice 30 12 7 11 53-44 43 8. Sigma Olomouc 30 10 10 10 36-30 40 9. Kaucuk Opava 30 10 10 10 34-35 40 10. Banik Ostrava 30 8 13 9 33-35 37 11. Viktoria Plzen 30 7 11 12 17-33 32 12. Viktoria Zizkov 30 6 11 13 17-33 29 13. FK Teplice 30 6 10 14 21-37 28 14. SK Hradec Kralove 30 5 13 12 22-39 28 15. FC Karvina 30 6 7 17 25-50 25 16. Bohemians Praha 30 4 7 19 22-53 19 Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer Soccer Euro 2004 Will Not Take Place in Czech Republic The Czech Republic should have run for hosting the Euro 2004 soccer championships. Austrian Soccer Union speaker Heinz Palme said June 3 the Czechs did not present their promised, detailed written offer by May 31. Therefore, the Austrian union chose joint candidacy with Hungary. According to Palme, the Hungarian government offer contained a higher financial guarantee. Czech soccer leadership found out about Vienna's step just before departing for final negotiations with Austrian representatives June 3 from the Czech Press Agency, and so they called off the meeting. Tomas Svoboda from the Education Ministry, who was present at the May meeting in Vienna, said the Austrians had then taken into consideration the Czech government's approval of the guarantee, according to the daily MF DNES. Besides the Austrians and Hungarians, also Germany and Spain are running independently to host the Euro. For the Czech Republic, only reorganization and enlargment of the championships to the 24 teams into six groups could be the last chance to play the Euro 2004 matches here. Lucie Vackova/Mirek Langer Basketball Players Only Losers in World Championships Basic Group The Czech women's basketball representatives did not pull themselves together after their first, unexpected loss to Lithuania 82-89, and they lost their remaining four matches in their world championships group in Hungary. Because of bad defense, in which they confused aggressive play with fouls, the Czech women lost to Spain 78-82, to Yugoslavia 69-84, to Germany 65-86 and to Ukraine 72-76. They will try to get their reputation back in the group of 9th-12th-place finishers. Slovakia lost only one match, to Hungary, and advanced to the quarterfinals in first place. Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer Track and Field Glory Week Among the events which took place in Prague last week were the 100th anniversary of the founding of organized Czech track and field. Over the June 7-8 weekend, both men's and women's national teams succeeded in advancing to the European Cup superleague in Prague's Strahov Stadium. The closing relays determined the Czechs' victories, while behind them Polish teams finished second. Kovacikova (high jump) and the men's 4x400 meters relay team broke Czech records. The Odlozil Memorial also ended up in similar fashion, with the bettering of Kodejs' 23-year-old record in the 400-meter hurdles. The new name in the record books is Muzik, who also started in Sunday's record relay. Souleiman from Qatar won the main discipline, the 2,000 meters race. At that distance, Odlozil set the world record in the 60s. Nor in the fourth year of the memorial did the winner run faster than Odlozil on the cinders in Houstka. Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer SPORTS IN BRIEF * The best scorer of last year's soccer season and this season's autumn, Radek Drulak, will return from a half-year engagement in Austria's Linz to Olomouc. * Coaches Slavomir Lener and Ivan Hlinka, who got a bronze medal with the national hockey team, will continue with the team into next season. The Nagano Olympics will be the top of the agenda and Jaromir Jagr will want to start there, although he has made statements to the contrary. * HC Olomouc gave up its hockey extraleague participation because of a financial shortage. Becherovka Karlovy Vary will replace it. * Pavel Padrnos finished fourth in the timed race during his first start in the Giro d'Italia cycling race. * Czech Daniel Vacek, together with Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov, won the men's doubles title at the French Open. * Bohdan Ulihrach won the Prostejov tennis challenge. Some players shut out in the French Open's first rounds took place. * Slovakia lost its 1998 World Cup qualification match in Yugoslavia 0-2 June 8. * FC Kosice won the Slovakian soccer league, Trnava finished second. Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer WEATHER Weather in the Czech Republic is more and more vacation-like. While at the end of last week dark clouds and unfriendly rain surprised us, in the new week the sun has smiled on the heart of Europe and temperatures are trying to reach 30 degrees Celsius/86 degrees Fahrenheit. Meteorologists do threaten us with occasional showers, but they are not to be believed. And if it did shower, do not despair - in the span of a light summer squall there is just enough time to buy an ice cream at the nearest soda fountain. Bohdana Rambouskova ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. 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